Data networks contain various network devices, such as switches, for sending and receiving data between two locations. For example, frame relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (“ATM”) networks contain interconnected network devices that allow data packets or cells to be channeled over a circuit through the network from a host device to a remote device. For a given network circuit, the data from a host device is delivered to the network through a physical circuit such as a T1 line that links to a switch of the network. The remote device that communicates with the host through the network also has a physical circuit to a switch of the network. A network circuit also includes a logical circuit which includes a variable communication path for data between the switches associated with the host and the remote device. Logical circuits may be provisioned with certain quality of service (“QoS”) parameters or traffic descriptors which describe the level of priority given to data communicated through a data network. For example, an ATM circuit provisioned for constant bit rate (“CBR”) service carries higher priority data (such as voice traffic) than unspecified bit rate (“UBR”) service. CBR service assures that high priority data, such as voice traffic, which is sensitive to delay, is communicated at a guaranteed data rate for quality service. Conversely, UBR service assures no quality guarantees making data communicated at this level highly susceptible to delay and network congestion.
In large-scale networks, the host and remote end devices of a network circuit may be connected across different local access and transport areas (“LATAs”) which may in turn be connected to one or more Inter-Exchange Carriers (“IEC”) for transporting data between the LATAs. These connections are made through physical trunk circuits utilizing fixed logical connections known as Network-to-Network Interfaces (“NNIs”).
Periodically, failures may occur to the trunk circuits or the NNIs of network circuits in large-scale networks causing lost data. Currently, such failures are handled by dispatching technicians on each end of the network circuit (i.e., in each LATA) in response to a reported failure to manually repair the logical and physical connections making up the network circuit. Some modern data networks also include redundant physical connections for rerouting data from failed physical connections in a network circuit while the failed physical connections are being repaired. These “self-healing” networks however, do not account for existing QoS parameters for failed network circuits, resulting in the data being communicated at the lowest available quality of service (e.g., UBR) over the redundant physical connections. As a result, the communication of high priority data packets or cells from the failed circuit may be delayed or dropped entirely.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.